Love Goes On
by skwirelygurli
Summary: The growth of Kurt and Blaine's relationship. Klaine.


**Love Goes On, a Glee fiction**

**I do not own Glee or Disney. Leave reviews and prompts!**

_Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons? (Mulan)_

"Where are you off to?" Mr. Anderson takes hold of the doorknob, inhibiting Blaine from leaving the house.

"I was going to go out with Kurt." Blaine tightens the scarf around his neck. It's chilly out. He promised he'd go with him to the McKinley football game, and if he didn't leave soon, he would be late.

Mr. Anderson grimaces. "Have a seat." There's no furniture in the doorway, so he has to settle for sitting on the ground. He has to crane his neck to see his father. He looks like a giant towering over him. Probably the effect he was going for.

"Is this going to take long? I'd hate for him to think I ditched him." He tucks his feet underneath him.

Mr. Anderson checks his watch. He makes no further comment about the time. "This Kurt kid. You seem to be spending a lot of time with him lately. Care to explain?"

"He just transferred to Dalton. We're friends. He's one of the Warblers." He smiles and then wipes the look off his face. It's best not to show any emotion around his dad. Especially if he's not sure which way his opinion will sway.

"Where are you two going tonight?" His hand stays firm on the doorknob.

"McKinley is having a football game. We're going to watch his friends." He takes a foot out from underneath him. It's fallen asleep. He pulls out the other. The mention of football should be enough to get him off the hook.

The hand releases the knob. Progress. "Is he gay?"

He wants to lie, tell him that Kurt is perfectly straight. It'll get him off his case and Kurt won't be victim of any prejudice before he gets to speak. "Yes."

"Don't make any rash decisions tonight." He opens the door for him. Blaine stands up.

"His parents are going to be there. And another hundred people to tell you that nothing happened in case you don't believe me." He walks out the door and shuts it before his father can answer.

_Our lives are made, in these small hours. (Meet the Robinsons)_

Finn returns home one day to find Kurt's bedroom door closed. At first, he walks right past. Then he hears Kurt say something.

"I promise not to bite. At least, not too hard. We wouldn't want to break it."

He stops. He's not sure what's going on in there. And as Kurt's big brother, he has the right to know.

"What does it taste like?"

Blaine's there too. Now he's really curious as to what the two of them are doing behind closed doors.

"It tastes like cream soda." Slurp, slurp. "Definitely cream soda."

"Can I have a turn?" It goes silent for a minute. Then the slurp slurp noise resumes. Finn is torn between sticking his fingers in his ears and finding out what happens next. They were too loud to ignore.

The slurping goes on for a minute and then Kurt speaks again. "Can it be my turn again?"

"But it's so good." Slurp slurp.

"We can't both suck at the same time." There's a brief grunt of struggle. Finn pales.

Blaine agrees with Kurt and offers to let him take his turn. Kurt, tries to be kind, volunteering to give up his turn if Blaine likes it so much. They bicker, trying to out-polite each other.

"Finish it off or it'll be a sticky mess." Blaine commands, and the slurping noise starts up again. Finn gasps. Immediately he claps his hand over his mouth.

There's a pop, as if someone is pulling something out of their mouth. "Do you hear something?"

Finn creeps down the hallway as fast as he can. The bedroom door opens. Kurt sticks his head out. Blaine's head is next.

"Oh, hey Finn!" He turns guiltily at Blaine's call. "You have got to try Kurt's sucker. It is awesome."

There poking out of Kurt's mouth was the white stick of a mystery flavored Dum Dum.

"I'll pass." After all, he still can't get the images he's conjured up out of his head, and he does not want to be sucking on that.

_It's a rough game. Anyone knows there are no rules. Anything goes. (Sword in the Stone)_

It's as if all the birds in Lima decided to have a party on Blaine's car. A party where the world was evidently their bathroom. He pulls into Kurt's driveway. His head hangs ashamed as he turns the key.

Kurt comes outside to get the mail. He's singing to himself, earbuds planted in his ears. He passes by, not noticing the car parked there. On his way back he notices. He rubs his knee from where it hit the car. He walks around to the passenger side and climbs in.

"How long have you been sitting here?" He looks to the watch on Blaine's wrist. He picks his arm up to examine the time. "Besides, you're early."

Blaine lifts his head. "I was kind of hoping you could help me wash my car before the marathon starts."

Kurt sets the mail on the dashboard and gets out of the car. He walks around slowly, taking in how dirty it is. He gets back in.

"What happened?" He thumbs through the mail. It's all for Carole.

"Birds happened." Blaine takes the key out of the ignition and places it in his pocket.

They exit the car. Inside, the hand Carole her mail and scour around for sponges. They locate a few, along with a bucket and soap. It is toted outside.

"Where's your hose?" Blaine asks, capping the soap bottle. Kurt leaves for a minute. He returns, uncoiling the hose from around the house. Water pours out. It barely misses his shoes. He takes them off with one hand and set them away from the line of water. Blaine's shoes join them.

"Now let's try and degunk your car." Kurt pulls on yellow rubber gloves. They match the stripes running across his tee shirt, and Blaine has to wonder if he did it intentionally. There was no way it could have been. It was the shirt he had gotten the mail in.

"Shouldn't you roll your pants up first?" He asks, bent over at his own cuffs. He rolls them until they reach his knees.

Kurt shakes his head. "They're skinny jeans Blaine. They don't roll up." He scrubs hard at a spot on the hood.

"That's unfortunate." Blaine grabs hold of the hose still filling the bucket. "We wouldn't want them getting wet."

A devilish smile flashes across his face. Kurt notices and poises his sponge in the air. "Don't you dare."

The water splurts out at his bare feet. It misses the hem of his pants. The sponge is thrown. It hits him in the chest. Kurt stifles a laugh as it drops to the ground, leaving a wet mark in its place.

"This means war." Blaine charges towards him, armed with the still running hose. They chase each other around the front yard, as far as the hose will allow that is, until they are both soaking wet. A sleepy eyed Finn comes outside.

"Dude, it's Saturday. Some people are trying to sleep." He yawns. He doesn't cover his mouth. Kurt, rather than reprimanding him for his manners, yells to him.

"Finn! Turn the water off!" He flies past. Somehow Blaine had gotten a hold of the hose again.

Finn obeys. "I'm going back to bed. Can you two keep it down out here?" He stretches and pulls up his pajama bottoms.

Kurt picks up his sponge. He goes back to the spot like nothing happened. Except now he's soaking wet, and Blaine's soaking wet, leaving very little to the imagination.

Thank you birds.

_We all must pay a price to be safe. We lose our chance of ever knowing. (Pocahontas)_

At Jungle Island petting zoo, Kurt finds himself face to face with a llama. It grins at him, if llamas can grin that is. Then it sticks out its tongue and licks the side of his face.

"It licked me!" He points accusingly at the llama. Blaine hands him the cup of feed.

"You let me lick you. Now here, try feeding the llama instead of pointing at it. Pointing is rude." Kurt holds some food out to the llama. He shrinks back as the tongue comes towards him again. It aims for his hand this time.

Blaine takes a picture. Kurt, being ticklish as he is, is laughing and his eyes are twinkling. The llama smiles at the camera flash.

"I should wash my hands." He hands the cup back to Blaine, who is trying to tuck the camera back into his bag. "Unless you want to hold hands with llama spit."

He shakes his head and manages to close his bag with one hand. He does not want the fox pawing around in his bag.

Kurt returns from the hand washing station. They join hands and visit the next display. There's half a dozen pot bellied pigs sticking their snouts through the gate.

Blaine pours a handful of food out of the cup and offers it to the pigs. Two pigs jump at the opportunity. They balance on their hind legs, fighting over who gets to eat from Blaine.

A small girl comes over with a handful of food. Both pigs race to her, fighting over her hand. A third pig, one who had hung behind earlier approaches Blaine. It takes its time eating the remains of what was in his hand.

"I'm getting pretty hungry myself. Let's finish up around here." Blaine remarks, getting in line to wash his hands.

In line at McDonald's Kurt looks up at the menu. "I'm starting to have second thoughts about our choice for lunch."

They end up splitting a milkshake.

_Life is brief, but when it's gone love goes on. (Robin Hood)_

The doorbell rings to the Hudmel residence. "Trick or treaters already?" Burt takes his hand out of the candy bowl. The Twix bar falls back into the pile.

Kurt rushes to get the door in his Mr. Monopoly costume. He fixes his oversized mustache. He opens the door to Blaine.

"Trick or treat?" He grins, and Kurt wonders who did his makeup.

"I don't think I can fit inside your imaginary pumpkin pail." Blaine enters the house and tries to kiss him. The mustache gets in the way. He grabs his hand, the one that isn't holding the cane, and kisses it instead.

Blaine pretends to frown. "I guess I'll have to settle for holding you in my arms then."

"I cannot believe I'm in love with a zombie Harry Potter." Kurt's hat falls to the ground as he is swept into a hug.

"What can I say? Love never dies. Besides, did you not tell me you thought I was magical?" He bends over to pick up the hat. He situates it back on Kurt's head.

Finn and Rachel come out from the bathroom. "Rach, this face makeup itches." He reaches up a hand, paw actually, to scratch. She swats his hand away.

"We don't have time for me to redo your whiskers. Now stop whining." Kurt and Blaine break apart to find Finn dressed as a lion. And Rachel's the tamer.

"I find their costumes very fitting," Kurt comments.

Finn glares at him. Blaine steers him out the door. "See you at the party!"

"I knew I should have left home for college," Finn mutters to himself. He grabs his keys and leads her to the car.

Some days he really wishes she would have gotten into NYADA.

_Life is your restaurant, and I'm your maitre d. (Aladdin)_

Mr. Anderson's eyes are barely over the raised lid of the grill, but Kurt can feel them creeping on him. They were there when he set the present on the table. They were they when he hugged a few of the Warblers. The only place they hadn't followed him was into the bathroom. Thank goodness for that.

The stereo is blasting Blaine's P!nk cd at the moment. He's pretty sure Jeff and Nick had turned it up when he left because they were dancing across the backyard. Jeff is doing backflips off the tree, and Mr. Anderson's eyes are still linked on him. The only other time he had watched Kurt this hard was when he first met him. He gave him a once over to find all his faults. He had told him that he had heard so much about him, and sat across from him, spitting questions in his direction. Kurt answered every last one of them, and Blaine was terribly embarrassed and sorry to have put him through that.

He takes a chip out of the bag on the snack table. The cheesy residue sticks to his fingers. He sucks it off. He wants to wipe his hand on a napkin, but Mr. Anderson is still watching. And he has to be careful not to come off too feminine around him. It makes him volatile. Like a volcano.

Blaine dances over to him. He kisses him on the cheek before reaching under the table. He pulls out a long pole. "Time for the limbo."

Kurt goes over to the stereo. He finds the cd that he and Blaine had picked out earlier that week. He switches the discs and turns the volume back up.

In the middle of round three, a droplet falls from the sky. It lands on the burgers on the grill. Mr. Anderson tilts his head to the sky. A large cloud comes nearer. It breaks and starts to pour. The burgers are soaking wet and half cooked. The guests race to the house, picking up the snacks and stereo as they go. Mr. Anderson stares dejectedly at the wasted meat. Blaine tugs him inside.

In the kitchen, nobody is sure what to do. It's crowded, as evidenced by Tina's elbow in Kurt's face. She apologizes and moves to sit in the only free spot left in the room.

Artie's lap.

Mike props himself up on the counter behind them. Kurt reaches around him to get into the cupboard. He pulls out a jar of peanut butter.

"Plan B?" He asks, handing the jar over to Mr. Anderson. They pull out all the bread they can find. Chips get dipped into peanut butter. Celery gets dipped into peanut butter. Fingers, hopefully clean, get dipped. Hopefully not double dipped.

Kurt takes a piece of celery and goes up to Mr. Anderson. "It's a shame it rained. I like your burgers."

Mr. Anderson nods, but doesn't look at him. This time he looks past him to Blaine.

"I had a talk with Blaine last night. He wants to move in with you once you both graduate from college." His eyes meet Kurt's. "He's been out of high school for four days and he's already planning his future with you. I've always told him to think ahead, but I never thought he actually had many any plans."

Kurt blinks at him. He's pretty sure he wasn't supposed to find out about it. He had talked about their future, theoretically, but nothing ever set in stone. If he was telling his father, the plan must be solid.

"You'd have a key to the place," he decides. "As would my parents. It's not like we'd be shutting you out of our lives permanently."

Mr. Anderson pats him on the shoulder. "Good to know son."

He nearly bites his tongue off.

_I had strings, but now I'm free. (Pinocchio)_

Kurt flops backward onto the bed. The sheets are freshly washed. He inhales, missing the scent of his boyfriend's cologne. He misses the feeling of his bed in the middle of his room. Part of him misses his parents barging in at the most inappropriate moments.

Because right now, it is dead quiet, and Blaine is out picking up sandwiches while he finishes unpacking. The neighbors aren't home. Or at least he can't hear them. And apartment walls are notorious for being thin.

He picks himself off the bed. He straightens the picture on the wall for what seems to be the fourth time. It is finally straight. The neighbors hit the wall with a thud. It goes crooked again.

He's glad to know they are home and that he's not alone. But he is pissed off, because that picture will not stay still.

The door opens and Blaine comes in with a takeout bag. "Turkey and cheddar?"

"What is that, some kind of bizarre mating call?" Kurt teases, taking the sandwich from him.

"Thank you Blaine. I appreciate my sandwich and job application." Blaine pulls out a sheet of paper and passes it to him. "Go to this address tomorrow and ask for a job. They're hiring."

Kurt wipes his hands and takes the paper. "An organic sandwich shop?"

"It pays, doesn't it?" Mustard falls out of his sandwich, onto his shirt.

"You missed your mouth." Blaine runs his finger along the edge of the blob to lift it off his shirt. He smears it across Kurt's nose.

Another thud is heard. "What was that?"

"Neighbors." Kurt takes a bite of his sandwich. The neighbor says something, but it's hard to make out the words. There's a howling, and then it goes quiet again. Minutes later there's a knock at the door. They get up to answer it.

"Hi, I'm Abby. Sorry about the noise. My dog always acts up when I come home from work." She sticks out her hand to be shaken. "You must be the new neighbors."

Blaine shakes first. "I'm Blaine Anderson. And this is my, uh, friend Kurt Hummel. We're from Ohio."

"Hello friend Kurt Hummel," she mocks as she pumps Kurt's hand up and down. "Seriously though, you are tapping him, yes? Because if not, I am definitely available."

Kurt's eyes pop. Was it that easy to read that they were dating?

"I hate to burst your bubble, but we are monogamous." He takes his hand back and loops it through Blaine's.

"That's a shame. But you seem like nice guys, and I'd hate to break either one of your hearts. I have a reputation of doing that. I get bored with guys and drop them like flies. Made one cry once." She leans against the edge of the door frame. She has a confident vibe going on, stating life as it is. Kurt is reminded of Santana.

"Wow, that's-" Blaine pauses to think of what to say. "Terrible. I'm sorry, but it's just terrible."

She pops her gum. "Honesty. I could use a guy like you. Looking for a job?"

"In what?" She steps past him, into the living room. She sits down on his sofa.

"Newspaper reviews. Now sit down so I can interview you for the position."

Blaine doesn't try to say no.

_Rest your head close to my heart, never to part. (Dumbo)_

It's a chilly Sunday afternoon when Kurt and Blaine stumble across it. The others shuffle past. It was only a penny after all.

Kurt bends down. "It's face up. That's good luck, right?"

Blaine nods. They pick it up and Kurt sticks it in his pocket. It falls out through a hole.

"Stupid penny." Kurt bends down again, placing it in his other pocket. It stays in there.

They walk further before coming across a nickel. This time, Blaine bends down to pick it up. "Today seems to be your lucky day Kurt. Heads up again."

Kurt would consider it a coincidence, but when he finds the third coin, another penny this time, he reaches his hand in his pocket. The penny is still there, right along with the nickel.

"It appears to be someone's unlucky day. They keep losing all their pocket change. Next thing you know we'll find a twenty dollar bill." He sticks the penny in his pocket with the others.

"Have you ever heard that coins are greetings from Heaven?" Blaine asks.

Kurt shivers as a sudden wind rushes by. "You know I don't believe in God. Why would I believe that he's sending me coins?"

"It doesn't have to be God. Maybe someone who's died and misses you?" His mind flashes to his mother. A tear comes out of hiding.

Blaine wraps his arm around his waist. They round the corner. There, wadded up on the ground is a dollar bill. Kurt unfolds it. "You are beautiful."

The writing is is across the top of the bill in blue ink. It's in feminine handwriting, and he remembers the notes she used to write on his lunch napkins. All of them in blue pen.

They come across a Salvation Army pot and stick the dollar and seven cents in it. The bell ringer nods in thanks. He notices her eyes are blue, like his mother's. She has the same smile too.

Back in the apartment he breaks into tears. Blaine holds him until he's done. And then some.

_I don't know when. I don't know how, but I know that something's starting right now. (Little Mermaid)_

Their heads are peering over the crib, down at the baby sitting in it. Abby is behind them, sitting up in the rocking chair. The baby reaches her hand out. She wants to hold something, anything. Kurt gives her stuffed toy whale to her.

"There you go Adelaide." She squeezes the whale tightly. She sets him down and wobbles as she tries to stand up. She can't, and falls back down on her bottom.

She reaches her chubby arms out again. "Mama."

Their eyes widen, this being her first word. Abby leaps to her feet and pushes her way between the two of them. She peers up at her.

"Her first word. She said mommy. Say it again Delly. Say mama." She picks her up out of the crib and bounces her back and forth. Yes, Kurt and Blaine had adopted Adelaide from her, but she was still her mother. She refuses to call her a mistake. Even if she was the result of a broken off engagement. He was a love in her life. Not the love of her life.

The baby turns her head to Kurt. "Mama." She stretches her arms out to him. Abby hands her over.

"How is it that I'm Mama?" He holds her so she can look in his eyes. "I am not Mama. I'm Papa, and this is Daddy. She's Mama."

Adelaide faces back to him after the whirlwind of names. She tugs on his shirt, and states it again. "Mama."

"I don't think you have a choice in the matter Kurt." Blaine chuckles.

"Bet you ten bucks she'll call you Daddy," Abby says. Blaine positions himself behind Kurt's shoulder.

"Can you say Daddy? Show Mama that you can say Daddy." He tickles her under the chin.

She giggles at him in delight. "Daddy!"

Kurt's eyes narrow. "Of course. You're Daddy, but she insists that I'm Mommy." He gets a better hold on her and sets her back in the crib.

"You didn't think Blaine would be the woman in this relationship, did you?" Abby picks up the abandoned whale and hands it back to her. Kurt looks into the baby's brown eyes.

He can't bring himself to break her heart.

_In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn. (Tarzan)_

Kurt buckles Adelaide into her carseat. He kisses her on the top of her head, handing her the plush whale before closing the door. He got into the passengers seat. Blaine adjusted the rear view mirror. He may had been using to watch the two of them, but now he needs to drive.

"Ready to go Delly?" She cooes back to him. Blaine puts the car in drive.

"Just wait when she finds out that we're going to visit the d-o-c-t-o-r." Adelaide sneezes, as if on cue. Kurt looks back to see her rubbing at her red nose with her hand and whale. "Remind me to disinfect the whale when we get home."

Blaine blesses her. "Do you really think that spelling things out is going to keep her from learning where we're going? Sooner or later she's going to find out what that spells."

"I plan to enjoy the moments that she doesn't until then." She sneezes a couple times and Kurt grimaces. He hates that she's caught herself a cold. It's the first time she's gotten sick in the first two years of her life.

The whale falls to the ground as she goes to scratch her nose. "Mama?" It sounds congested. He leans over the armrest. He picks up the whale, who has managed to tumble halfway across the car.

"After the doctor's maybe we could take her to get a new book for bedtime. She always loves stories before her naps." Blaine turns his blinker on.

"Nap?" Adelaide asks, yawning.

"Should have spelled it out," Kurt sing songs. He had warned him.

Blaine makes the turn as the light turns green. "Someone better keep quiet if he wants to make l-o-v-e t-o-n-i-g-h-t."

"Why'd you spell out tonight?" Kurt questions as they make another turn.

"I'm not a pro when it comes to this parenting code. You'll have to teach me more later." He slows down to let a squirrel cross the street.

"It's a date," Kurt promises. Blaine takes his hand from the wheel to pat Kurt's thigh.

Adelaide notices. "Daddy no!"

His hand returns to the wheel. This kid is going to be a smart one.

_Here's where she meets prince charming, but she won't discover that it's him 'til chapter three. (Beauty and the Beast)_

Blaine fixes the collar on Kurt's jacket. They're going to a fancy dinner party, the black tie type. Adelaide kicks her legs back and forth on the couch. Abby catches hold of one and does the buckle of her shoe.

"Do you always have to fix my collar?" Kurt asks as he loosens Blaine's tie.

"Does your collar always have to be crooked?" Blaine counters back. He rubs his hand against the fabric to smooth it down.

The other show is buckled onto Adelaide and she jumps off the couch. She runs over to in between their legs. "Mama does it on purpose."

Blaine squats down to pick her up. "Does what on purpose Delly?"

"He messes his collar up so you have to fix it." She wraps her arms around Blaine's neck.

"Oh really? Mama is quite the trickster huh?" He shifts his weight to make sure he doesn't drop her.

Kurt smirks. "You started it. Way back at Dalton."

"Daddy, who's Dalton?" She pushes his head back so she can look at him.

"Dalton is where we met. It's back in Ohio. You remember Ohio, right? Back where your grandparents live?" He sets her down on the floor so Abby can fix her hair.

Abby runs her fingers through the mess of hair. "Can we go see Dalton when we see them again?"

"What for sweetie?" Kurt watches as the hair is pulled into a cute little bun.

"I want to thank him for the best mama and daddy a kid could ask for." They try not to cry as they walk her to the car.

At the dinner party, she sits next to a boy. She points to her parents on the dance floor. "See them? They're the best parents ever."

The boy shakes his head. "You've never met my mommy and daddy."

She crosses her arms. No one challenges her. She likes it.

"I'm Adelaide. But everyone calls me Adelaide."

"Travis."

_Perfect isn't easy. (Oliver and Company)_

Blaine takes the comb from her hand and sits her down on the counter. Her wet hair drips down her pajama shirt. Section by section he carefully combs out the tangles. That's the easy part.

"Daddy, will you braid my hair?" He sets the comb down on the counter. She hands him two ponytail holders. One is green. The other is pink.

He takes them from her hand. "Sure. How about we go sit on the couch so I can get a better angle on your head?"

She jumps down, nearly falling. Luckily she lands on her feet. She races over to the couch and sits down.

Five minutes later, her hair is done. If that's what you call it. If you're Kurt, you walk in with a bag of groceries and laugh. Loudly.

"Delly, did you let Daddy do your hair?" He sets the bag on the counter.

"Mhmm. Isn't it something?" She twirls one of her braids.

Kurt shakes his head. "It's something alright. Blaine, why do they start at two different spots. One's at the top of her head, and the other one is down by her neck." He takes a hold of the ends of her hair. "Could you not of used matching hair ties?"

"She gave me the ties. I just did the best I could." He moves to the kitchen to empty the grocery bag. There was a reason that Kurt was the mother.

"Let Mama redo your hair, okay? I'll fix Daddy's mistakes." Kurt takes the hair ties out. He runs his fingers through her hair to unweave it.

In a matter of minutes two matching braids are running down the length of her back. He holds a hand mirror up to her.

"Thank you Mama. Now will you help me with my nail polish?" She waves her chipped manicure in his face.

Kurt tentatively takes the bottle. "I think that's more Daddy's area of expertise."

Blaine takes the bottle and carefully applies pink polish to her fingers and toes. It comes out smooth and even.

"So if I can't do hair, and you can't do nails, how will we ever survive puberty?" He asks Kurt, watching her wiggle her hands and feet to dry faster.

"Let's hope that Abby doesn't plan on moving out any time soon."

_All that time never truly seeing things the way they were. (Tangled)_

Kurt calls Blaine from work. He pauses the cd he's supposed to be reviewing and picks up the phone. "Hello?"

"It is horrible Blaine. Just horrible." Kurt offers no explanation, nor a friendly hello.

"What's horrible, just horrible Kurt? Did you run out of coffee again?" He glances around to make sure nobody is watching. His break isn't for another half hour, and he's pretty sure it's frowned upon to take a personal call.

Kurt sniffles. "They put the employee of the month picture up."

"I thought you were the employee of the month. What's the problem?" He fishes around in his drawer to find a container of Altoids. He pops one in his mouth.

"It's the picture. I had to sneeze, but I held it in. Or so I thought. They chose the one where I'm just about to sneeze. My nose is all scrunched and I look positively ridiculous." His voice is hysterical.

He pushes the Altoid to the side of his mouth. "I'm sure you look fine."

"I look horrible. I'm ready to trade name tags with someone so nobody knows it's me."

"I assure you Kurt. You look amazing." He swallows the Altoid and reaches for another.

He can hear him shaking his head on the other end. "You can't even see the picture. How can you be so sure?"

Blaine drops the mint back into the tin. "I've seen you hunched over the toilet with stomach flu. You always look gorgeous."

"That opinion is completely biased." He pictures Kurt's hand on his hip.

"I'm not going to deny that." He thought for a minute. "If it makes you feel any better, we can replace it with another picture."

Kurt lets out a sigh of relief. "You are a life saver Blaine."

On his lunch break Blaine finds himself over at the sandwich shop, talking to Kurt's manager about retaking the picture.

_The second star in the right shines in the night for you. (Peter Pan)_

"G'night Delly." Blaine tucks her into bed, making sure her whale is secured in her arms.

Kurt kisses her cheek. Blaine takes the other. They turn out the light and head for the door.

"Mama? Daddy?" They stop and walk back into the room.

"Yea?" Kurt sits on the edge of her bed. "What's wrong?"

She squirms around. "I'm scared about the sleepover tomorrow. What if there's monsters under the bed and you're not there to scare them away?"

Kurt runs a hand through her hair. "Mr. Whale will be here. He can protect you."

"Uh-uh. He's scared too." She holds him tighter. Blaine takes a seat next to Kurt.

"See that star out there?" He points out the window. She sits up and nods her head. "Mama and I told that star when you were born to keep a close eye on you. Whenever you feel lonely, or scared, just look for that star right there. And as long as the star is still shining, you'll know that we're watching over you."

She smiles. "I have my own star?"

"Yup. And you better get to sleep, so it can get to work." They kiss her cheeks again.

That night, she not only says goodnight to her whale, but to the star.

_There's more to be seen than can ever be seen. More to do than can ever be done. (Lion King)_

Back visiting in Ohio, Kurt finds that the corner store is still selling slushies. He goes in to pay for gas, flinching at the machine. There's a few kids lined up with empty cups. They're the tall and burly type. They're wearing McKinley High lettermen jackets.

Instead of handing over the twenty dollar bill, he approaches the machine. "Boys."

"Do we know you, old man?" The boy in the front of the line asks as he pulls the lever down.

"First off, I'm twenty eight. And no, you don't know, but I know what you plan on doing with those slushies." He crosses his arms in what he hopes looks like a pose of authority.

The boy swishes the liquid around in the cup. "Do you now?"

He sees the slushie threatening to spill over the side. He remembers the attacks in the hallways. The cold ice running down his face. It's a memory to him now. He's not going to let it be someone else's reality.

"If you actually put that money away for college instead of buying drinks to pour on some poor defenseless kid, you'd be a lot better off." He turns on his heel and walks to the counter.

"I'm going to get a football scholarship old man! I consider this a wise investment. Gotta put those glee club kids in line." The kid calls behind him.

He swallows his pride. No matter how badly he wants to take him on, he knows it's useless. He slaps the bill on the counter.

"Pump two please." The man at the counter takes the money from him.

"What do you mean, 'pour on some poor defenseless kid'? Don't they just drink them?" He hands a receipt over to Kurt.

Kurt shoves the receipt in his pocket. "They dump them on people they don't like. And they are cold and disgusting tasting, I'll have you know."

"You've been victim?"

"More times than I'd care to remember. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go." Kurt pushes through the door.

Blaine sees Kurt come out and begins to pump the gas. Kurt gets in the driver's seat.

"Long line?" He buckles his seat belt.

Kurt agrees with him and keeps on driving to his old house.

Later that night, in the middle of dinner, Kurt's cell phone rings. He excuses himself from the table, and picks it up.

"Mr. Schuester?" Unless his caller ID was wrong, his old teacher was calling him. But what on earth could he want? He hadn't talked to him since the New Directions reunion last year.

"I heard about what you did Kurt." He thinks back for a minute. He's done plenty in the past couple days.

Emma takes hold of the phone. "They're taking the slushie machine out of the corner store. All the kids were talking about it today."

Kurt nearly drops his phone. They were taking the machine out. No more slushies. No more cold ice dripping down the face of innocent teenagers. He had done it. Question was, if it was that easy, why hadn't he done it years earlier?

"You're kidding."

"Nope. The kids had gone down to complain a couple of times, but seeing an adult behind the situation made the manager realize it was more than kids asking for attention." Will sounds proud. "How long are you in town for? The kids have been asking about you since the reunion. They'll be ecstatic when they find out it was you."

Kurt runs a hand through his hair. "We're staying until Saturday afternoon. I have to be back Sunday morning for my shift."

He makes plans with them to visit them the next afternoon. It's not like there was much to do on a Friday afternoon in Lima anyway.

Back at the table he launches his arms around Blaine and squeezes so tight he's afraid he might turn purple.

_I ask for nothing. I can get by, but I know so many less lucky than I. (Hunchback of Notre Dame)_

For a twelve year old, Adelaide sure has a lot of spunk in her. Each year she's had a cause. Last year it was feeding the hungry. She convinced Blaine and Kurt to help her run a canned food drive. It wasn't Christmas or Thanksgiving. It was an oddly warm day in February. She crafted a set of homemade valentines and stuck them on care packages. She handed them out to the hungry on Valentine's Day.

The year prior she had been about animal abuse. She volunteered at the animal shelter, Blaine driving her there every day that summer before going to work. On their days off they stayed to help. Kurt was often stuck cleaning litter boxes. Not once did he complain.

This year, she was lounging on Abby's couch in front of the fan she had plugged in. She stopped fanning herself, turned on her side towards them and pushed her ponytail out of the way.

"A toy drive. Every kid needs a toy to play with over the summer."

Then she rolled back over from the sun beating through the window.

Now Kurt's lifting a crate of stuffed bears onto the back of Abby's truck. Adelaide spins around, her ponytail unsticking from her neck long enough to get restuck on the other side.

She looks down to her clipboard and flips the page. "That's the last of them Mama."

Blaine helps Kurt down from the back of the truck. "Just be glad her cause isn't saving the whales. Then we'd be lifting them from one ocean to the next."

"Mr. Whale is the only whale in her life. I draw the line at any more." He takes the offered bottle of water from a volunteer. "Thanks Travis."

"No problem Mr. Hummel. I know Delly can get a bit crazy with her saving the world plans." He fixes the brim of his hat so it can shield his eyes.

Kurt takes a long sip. "When we're dead and gone, you're in charge of her."

"Not that we plan on dying any time soon," Blaine adds.

Travis nods.

_Remember you're the one who can fill the world with sunshine. (Snow White)_

It's eight years later. This time Travis is standing at the end of the aisle, waiting at the altar. He's wearing a tee shirt with a tie on top. He looks handsome. Nervous as a mouse being chased by a cat, but handsome.

Adelaide enters the church. She was never raised to be religious, but Travis is, and it's important to him. So she's agreed to marry him in the church she's frequented all of twice before. Once at his father's funeral, and once at the preparations for the wedding. It's his day as much as it is her's, and they're going to make it perfect.

Because it's her wedding, and if she wants both of her dads walking her down the aisle, then so be it. Blaine holds her right hand. Kurt holds the left. They walk down the aisle, her in a 'Save the Whales' shirt, because it's her wedding.

They leave her at the altar and sit in the front row next to Mr. Whale, the plush toy. The same toy that's been there since she called Kurt Mama for the first time. The same one that got her through her first sleepover. The same one that inspired her to start her Save the Whales campaign, where Travis proposed to her. The same whale that she told about the proposal before her parents.

Kurt beams at his daughter at the altar.

His baby was all grown up. She was getting married.

He turns to Blaine and wipes the falling tear from his cheek.

How far they have come.

How far they have to go.


End file.
